Endoscopic procedures for treating pathologies within the alimentary canal and biliary tree, including the biliary, hepatic, and pancreatic ducts, are increasing in number. While an endoscope provides access to the general area of a desired duct using direct visualization, the duct itself must often be navigated using a catheter in conjunction with fluoroscopy and guide wires without steering assistance from the endoscope.
Multi-lumen catheters are known for a variety of endoscopic procedures including, for example, retrograde cholangiopancreatography, retrograde sphincterotomy and other therapeutic and diagnostic procedures. Furthermore, these endoscopic procedures have been performed using guide wire techniques. The present devices utilized in these procedures are often at least 180 cm long to allow them to pass through an endoscope, which is commonly at least 150 cm long. Therefore, when using such a catheter having a guide wire lumen extending the full length thereof, to allow for catheter and guide wire exchange while maintaining position within the target area, the guide wires used are often 400 cm long or longer. The exchange of devices over guide wires of this length is both time consuming and cumbersome.
Due to the length of the guide wire, physicians often require at least two assistants in the room to perform such procedures. Typically, one assistant is responsible for the patient and the device related concerns, while the other assistant is responsible for the guide wire. The additional hands required due to the length of the guide wire results in a procedure that is more time consuming and costly.